Through the Burning Fires of Hell // A Nico Di Angelo Fanfiction (On Hold)

Chapter 4

Nico

This isn't so bad, Nico found himself thinking as Raven lifted them into the air. He'd never liked physical contact, but Raven's was different. He felt comfortable and relaxed, safe, and accepted, which he'd never felt before. 

With the cool night-kissed aura emanating from her and the feeling of soaring, Nico could almost imagine that he wasn't in Tartarus. Unfortunately, that feeling was gone the second they landed. His feet touched the crumbly ground and Nico had to fight the urge to flee from the feeling of the membrane underneath, which would be ridiculous since the entire place was like this. 

The sensation of feeling good with Raven's arm around him made him release her more than his previous discomfort. 

Raven let go and quickly scanned the area. "There are-"

She turned to him, noticing his unease. "You can see it?"

Nico nodded, still trying to shove down the disgust and horror of this place.

Raven winced. "That's terrible."

"H-how do you deal with it?" Nico said. "You know. And yet. . ."

Raven shuddered. "I know. I prefer to stick to the skies since flying can almost make me convince myself that I'm somewhere else, but the second my feet touch the ground. . ." She shivered. "You don't get used to it, even after hundreds of years. The monsters don't care since this is their home. Even though it's technically mine, too, it's harder for me to live with it. Usually, I just stay at my mother's mansion of Night, though it's not much better there." She made a face. 

Nico couldn't imagine living here for a few weeks, much less three hundred and fourteen years. "Okay. What were you saying before?"

"Oh, yeah," Raven replied. "There is a group of dracaenae over that ridge. Before we do anything, I need to feed."

"Right." Nico silently reminded himself that Raven was a three-hundred-year-old more god-than-mortal demigod and vampire. His bargain was likely the only thing keeping her from killing him, and he had to remember that. 

Raven nodded and headed towards the monsters. Nico followed. He was a lot slower though, and he could already hear the sounds of a battle and cursed himself for being so slow. What if there were dozens of them down there and Raven was hurt, or even worse, killed? She was powerful, but Nico doubted that she could do much against dozens of monsters. He crested the ridge, finally, and froze.

The carnage and blood immediately made him take back those words. Raven had half-finished drinking the blood of one of the monsters, for its two snake legs were twitching, showing she was alive, but her skin was so, so pale, the blood drained. The other dozen monsters were fighting with Raven. I can't call it much of a fight, Nico mused, watching. He was in awe of her skills, though chilled to the bone at the same time. 

There was blood everywhere, and at least another dozen of the monsters were littered around Raven, dead. She moved so fast his demigod reflexes couldn't even track her movements. Raven decapitated the last monster through the neck with her sword, ignoring the spurt of blood that sprayed her face. 

He had never, ever, seen someone so powerful. Two dozen monsters dead in under a minute, and only a few scratches on her to show that she'd fought them. 

There was monster blood all over her black clothes but Raven didn't seem to notice as she bent over the half-alive dracaena and ripped her throat out, sinking her fangs into her neck. Nico turned away, not wanting to see the violence. He heard the sound of flesh ripping, wondering if she'd eaten the thing or was just making a bigger cavity to access the blood better. He shuddered. 

What have I made a deal with? Nico thought. How much death had she seen? How much had she killed? And, how many of those deaths had been human?

Nico turned back around. The monsters had disappeared, turning into piles of sandy dust, the dracaena Raven had been feeding off completely bloodless, her throat a gaping mess of dried blood and torn flesh. 

He raised his eyes from the body to Raven, who was standing beside it, her golden eyes piercing as they met his. 

Nico fought the urge to flinch away from her gaze. 

Fine. So what if she killed without remorse or care? It wasn't her fault. Raven was born the way she was, and those were monsters. He couldn't imagine being in Tartarus for a day, and she'd spent three centuries here. To survive a world of monsters, she'd become one. And he himself could hardly fault or judge her. If anything, she'd be the only person who could understand him. 

Nico nodded to her, his face emotionless. He swore that Raven relaxed imperceptibly, the slight anxiety in her eyes disappearing. Nico couldn't help wondering if she'd been worried about his reaction to her. 

Her face slid back into its mask of cool indifference and she walked back up the ridge to stand beside him. "Now that's out of the way, let's go."

"Wait!" Nico called as he scrambled down the ridge, following Raven. "Where exactly are we going?"

Raven turned back to him. "Well, I need to change clothes. The scent of the blood is enough to attract any dracaenae in the area. I don't need another useless and troublesome bloodbath. Plus, you need food and water."

Food. Water. Those words were a dull reminder that he was hungry and thirsty. The water and food in his bag were a lot less heavy than he liked. "Fantastic," Nico replied. "Where to?"

"Nychta," Raven replied. "It's sort of my hideaway from everything. You'll be safe there."

Nico couldn't imagine anything like a safe place in Tartarus, but he trusted Raven more than he should have. "Alright. Let's go."